Stress Management

There is no question that in American society today, stress has a major negative impact on the health of the American population. Stress can occur in all levels of life. There are nutritional, physical, emotional, mental, psychological and spiritual stress factors. Even exercise, which is accepted as one of the best ways to minimize stress, can become a stressor if performed too intensely or without adequate rest. Emotional struggles such as anxiety, fear, depression, perfectionism, grief and frustration can be extremely stressful. Medical conditions such as infection, chronic illness, or surgery cause tremendous metabolic stress. Change, even seemingly good change, can be stressful. Finally, environmental and chemical exposures, such as drugs and excessive alcohol, can place stress on the body.

Stress can present as either acute or chronic in nature. Chronic stress brings about a wide range of health problems including exhaustion, lowered thyroid function, cardiovascular problems, alterations in blood sugar, weight gain, muscle breakdown, altered immune function and more. It is easy to see how a major precursor for many of the health problems we see in America today, is the stress that we all seem to be dealing with. The hormonal changes brought on by stress can have a major impact on many of the systems in the body. Interestingly, when researchers interview centenarians from around the world, the one aspect that is common in all of these individuals is a lack of stress, or a means of managing their stress before their stress manages them.

So how do we manage stress? We need to avoid those things that stress us. However, it is impossible for most of us to leave our jobs, our families, and our other responsibilities. Instead, we need to avoid poor dietary choices that often accompany stress. We need to provide ourselves with daily periods of moderate exercise, which is how we as humans are designed to alleviate our stress. We need to obtain adequate, restful sleep EVERY evening (see SLEEP SUPPORT: Natural Options for Sleep). Most of all, we need to lower our response to our daily stress and keep ourselves healthy so that we can better manage our stress and our lives.

Nutritional supplements such as L-theanine, Relora 250 mg and GABA Calm have been found to be helpful in lowering our stress hormones and making us calmer when they are taken during the course of our day. Probiotics such as Probiotic Extra Strength DF help to support our immune function and minimize the effect of stress on our gut health and ultimately, our overall health. Combination products such as Relaxation Formula taken during the course of the day, can help us to relax and calm down so that we can fall sleep and obtain a restful night’s sleep. Finally, specialized, high-potency Vitamin B formulations like CoEnzyme-B, Super Stress Support and Vitamin B-Complex can provide us with the solid nutritional support that we need to prevent metabolic breakdown brought on by stress. If you have issues with stress management, do you need to take ALL of these supplements? No, definitely not. But we can help you put together a supplement regimen that will help you minimize your stress, stay healthy and own your stress before your stress owns you!